Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 Nov 2001

Vol. 543 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Suckler Cow Premium Scheme.

Mr. Dukes:

Without any disrespect to the Minister of State, I am disappointed that the Minister did not see fit to stay for the debate even though he is in the House. This is the second time today he has disappointed me. This afternoon he did not see fit to attend the meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It appears the Minister is losing interest in these matters. He has certainly taken his eye off the ball on this issue.

It has just recently emerged that a very funda-

mental and seriously damaging change has been made to the rules of the suckler cow premium scheme for 2002. Farmers have always accepted the necessity to have replacement heifers in their herd in order to qualify for the premium. The current requirement is that 15% of the herd are replacement heifers. In a herd of 20 suckler cows, for example, one would have to have three replacement heifers for the herd to qualify for the scheme. These replacement heifers must remain in the herd until the end of the retention period. We all understand the reasons for that.

Until now, it was assumed the replacement heifers could be in-calf heifers and nobody ever asked the time at which the heifers calved. That was the basis upon which the scheme operated and everybody understood it. Now, however, it has emerged that there is a new rule for 2002, under which a replacement heifer will no longer be counted as one of the replacements in the herd if it calves before the end of the retention period. The effect of the rule is much greater than it appears. The requirement to have a 15% replacement rate means that the loss of one replacement removes six cows in the herd from the benefit of the scheme. So now, one heifer calving in the herd before the end of the retention period will disqualify six cows, or in fact to be pedantic about it, 6.6 cows from the benefit of the scheme. That is a major, monstrous and unwarranted change in the conditions of the scheme. The calving pattern of replacement heifers should be decided by the dictates of good herd management and good husbandry and should not be decided by the need for bureaucratic tidiness whether it is in Brussels or in Kildare Street or wherever else it might be. There is no reason in the wide world why there should be any specification as to when a replacement heifer in a suckler herd can or cannot calve. As long as the animal is on her first pregnancy then she should qualify as a replacement heifer irrespective of when she calves.

The reason there is a condition in the scheme that there be replacement heifers in the herd is to make sure the application is for a bona fide ongoing continuing suckler cow operation and is not a scheme that is there for fly-by-nights who buy in cows in order to get the benefit of the premium and sell them on when they have collected and pocketed the premium. The requirement for the replacements – a very logical one – is enough in itself to make sure the scheme has the necessary effect. This new rule is a completely unjustifiable and unnecessary twist. I call on the Minister to ensure that the status quo ante is restored and that hard-pressed suckler herd owners will not now be penalised in this major way, losing potentially one-sixth of their income under the scheme.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Éamon Ó Cuív):

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist seo a thógaint tráthnóna agus tá brón orm muna bhfuil mé sách maith ag freagairt na ceiste.

Mr. Dukes:

Tá súil agam go mbeidh an freagra ceart aige.

Éamon Ó Cuív:

One of the elements in the reform of the beef regime which was adopted by the Agriculture Council in June was the introduction of a requirement obliging producers with more than 13 cows to submit heifers for at least 15% of their suckler cow claim. The Minister's interpretation of this provision at the time that this amendment was adopted was that producers would be permitted to use in-calf heifers to fill this requirement and he believes he was not alone in that belief. This interpretation was based on the fact that in-calf heifers are permitted in the existing optional 20% heifer facility and there was never any indication from the Commission that this would not be possible under the obligatory minimum 15% requirement. However the Commission has now come forward with a proposal which would require heifers which calved down during the retention period to be replaced by another heifer. This proposal will be voted on at the meeting of the FEOGA committee tomorrow.

The Minister raised this issue at the meeting of the Agriculture Council last month. He pointed out to Commissioner Fischler that his proposal was inconsistent with his interpretation of the 15% requirement and he asked him instead to implement this provision on the basis of the status of a heifer on the day of application for the premium. He followed this up with further representations to the Commissioner last week. He has asked the Commissioner to take account of these representations in his proposal to the FEOGA committee tomorrow.

While the Minister accepts that the more restrictive interpretation proposed by the Commission will create difficulties for certain pro ducers, particularly those close to the stocking density limit for the extensification premium, he should point out that the minimum 15% requirement applies only to producers with more than 13 suckler cows, which means that two-thirds of Irish producers are exempt from this provision. In addition, the Teagasc annual farm survey shows that the average specialist suckler cow producer in Ireland normally keeps dry heifers over one year old equivalent to at least 17% of their suckler cow numbers. In view of this, the negative impact of the more restrictive Commission interpretation will be substantially reduced in the case of Irish suckler cow producers. Nevertheless, it is clear that he has vigorously pursued this matter and his officials will continue to press the case in the relevant forum. Tá súil agam go soiléiríonn sé sin an scéal don Teachta agus go bhfuil sé muiníneach anois go ndéanfar gach rud is féidir leis an bhfadhb a réiteach.